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Last day hiking in Vercors

The night was really cold but gorgeous. I woke up at 6 am to go see the sunrise over the plateau. Andy was still outside, his sleeping bag got wet on the outside but apparently managed to stay warm enough during the night.

We took our sleeping bags and went by the edge of the cliff to see the sun rise. We did not realize it would get up around 7, even a bit later since it had to rise from behind a big mountain. Meanwhile, we heard some strange noises down in the nearby canyon. We figured they were ibex fighting each other. After a while, we heard something falling over the rocks, maybe one of them ended up biting the dust. It didnt seem very hurt as we heard steps scrambling up shortly after.

As the sun came up, more and more chamois climbed up to the plateau to enjoy the nice grass. Some of them came so close to us that we could see every detail. They did not seem to be afraid of humans.

After a nice breakfast, we started the walk down: 1000 meters to reach Chatillon down a very very steep slope. Andy and Nina who started after us soon reached us and arrived before us at the small village waiting for us at the first available bar. It was only 11 am but we really enjoyed that beer before heading out (to the restaurant right in front of us) for a celebratory meal.

Our new friends will hitchhike to Die to eventually reach Valence, in the meanwhile we hope a kind stranger will pick up three dirty young women to get us back to our car in Lus. As soon as Sophie’s thumb is up, a car with a muscien picks us up and I have to run back to the car. I think he was expecting only two people as I was around the bend and he had to clear up an entire seat full of musical instruments. We will drive past the Gorges of the Gats which are absolutely gorgeous while he is explaining that in the Drome region, hitchhiking is very popular and that it is easy to get from one place to the other. Even locals do it. We enjoy a drink in Lus (we ended up hiking the last 5 km to our car following another GR) before setting up camp for the night.

The following morning, G gets her train back home and Sophie and I drive back to Limoges where I will catch a train to the next adventure: the GR10!

Trip summary:

Beginning/End: Lus-la-Croix-Haute (Drome).

How to get there: D1075 (by car… hitchhiking?) or there is a train station to and from Grenoble

Looking forward to read them (the updates of the GR10). I walked a short part of them three years ago. When I was in Saint Jean Pied de Port, during my Camino de Santiago.
I hope to cross the Pyrenees one day and if possible with my boys.
But they have to be a bit older first. 😉